Railway-switch.



. 1,207,032. Patented Dec. 5,1916.

T. HARDEGEN. RAILWAY SWITCH. APPLICATION FILED MAY I3. 1916.

'QEGQQ ammo o 87' THEODORE HHRDEGEN THEODORE HARDEGEN, LONACONING, MARYLAND.

RAILWAY-SWITCH.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEODORE HARDEGEN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Lonaconing, in the county of Allegany and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway- Switches, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention is a railway switch.

One object is to provide a switch that will eliminate the use of frogs.

Another object is to provide a switch that will consist of few parts simple and strong in construction, may be readily applied to track structures and one that will be cheap to install.

A further object is to provide a switch in which the ends of the movable rails have at all times a solid bearing against downward thrust.

Broadly stated, the invention comprises a movable plate secured to the movable rails,

the forward portion of which is rabbeted so that a slot is formed between the rails and the plate, a stationary plate secured to the ties and provided with spaced lugs upon its under side or surface, said movable rails and movable plate, by means of the slot, being adapted to engage and cooperate with the stationary plate between the lugs which then also act as stop members, a plurality of switch points, and means connected with the switch points to actuate the points, the movable rails and plate simultaneously.

One practical form of construction will be described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view showing the track with the assembled devices to form a switch; Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view ofthe end of the movable rails and the movable plate, to more particularly show the slot; F ig. 4 is a side elevat1on of the stationary plate; and Fig. 5 1s a side elevation of a modified movable plate.

As this switch is to be applied to existing track structures, Fig. 1- is a general-lay-out form and construction andspacinga-nd thus" of the assembly-. The ties 6 are of the usual Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 13, 1916.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916. Serial N 0. 97,392.

are securely fastened to their respective rail supports 6. The switch points 11 and 12 are connected to the intermediate sections or rails 13 and 141 in the usual or customary manner. These switch points at their movable ends, are secured in spaced relation by means of the tie bar 15 which is extended beyond the rails so that it may cooperate with the usual form of bell crank lever 16. The bell crank lever 16 is mounted for pivotal movement, as shown at 17 which may be of any customary type. The movable rails 18 and 19 are connected to the ends of the rails 8 and 9 in any usual or customary manner, one of which is by the common ordinary form of fish plate. The movable ends of these rails 18 and 19 are provided with a spacing block, indicated at 20 which may be of any suitable material. Adjacent the ends of the rails 18 and 19, which are movable, there is secured to the under side the movable plate 21, which has at its forward end a rabbeted portion, leaving a thinner section or tongue 22. This movable plate 21 may be secured to the rails 18 and 19 in any usual or customary manner, one

form of securing means being indicated by the screws 23, as shown in Fig. 3. The ends of the rails 18 and 19 lie flush with the end of the tongue 22 and thus form a slot 24 between the bases of the rails and the I fication, is an equivalentmeans to produce the same, or 11108. resultand funct on. Se-

menial a y t Lea cured to certain of the rail supports 6, is a stationary plate 29. This plate is provided with suitable apertures 30 for the purpose of securing it tothe rail supports. The 1111* 5 der side of this plate may be provided with the two spaced lugs 31 and 32, as shown more particularly in Fig. 4:. This plate 29 rests in recesses formed in certain of the rail supports and comprises a recess which is deep enough to correspond to the thickness of the plate and another recess centrally disposed of a thickness equaling the thickness of the plate, plus the length of the lugs. This ismore clearly shown in Fig; 2. To secure this plate 29 to the rail support 6, any suitable means may be employed, one of which is indicated by means of the bolts 33. These bolts are adapted to pass through the apertures 30 formed in the plate and through suitable apertures formed in the rail support. The intermediate sections 13 and 14: of the main line rails may be rigidly secured at one end to the stationary plate, if desired,

so as to hold them in a permanent position.

This stationary plate 29 is adapted to be inserted or rather the movable plate 21 and the movable rails 18 and 19 are adapted to engage with this stationary plate 29 which is inserted in the slot 21. The bases of the 30 rails 18 and 19 may rest upon the top surface of the stationary plate 29 and the tongue 22 will engage with the under surface of this plate 29. The movable rails and their plate are adapted to move from this stationary plate 29 a predetermined distance which is fixed by the spacing of the lugs 31 and 32 formed upon the under sur face of the stationary plate 29. The lugs 31 and 32 will then act as stop members for the movable plate and its rails. The movable rails 18 and 19 are connected by a suitable rod 31 to a bell crank lever 35, and the fastening may be of any usual or customary type. The bell crank lever 35 is pivoted or has a suitable mounting, indicated at 36, which may be of any preferred form or type. The other end of the bell crank lever 35 is connected by means of the rod 3'? to one of the arms of the bell crank lever 16 so that a 5 simultaneous operation may be effected between the movable rails 18 and 19 and the switch points 11 and 12. By the construction shown in this embodiment, the ends of the movable rails 18 and 19 have a solid 5 bearing upon the stationary plate 29 at all times, irrespective of their particular position. By reason of this solid bearing, the ends of the rails are supported in a very secure and safe manner in either one or the other of their operating positions. By the method of positioning the intermediate sections 13 and "l t'of the .irnain line'rails and securely fastening "them to the supporting members not be much subjected to side thrust as a train enters or leaves through the points g into the siding or a diverging main goi line.

In practical operation, when it is desired to open the line to communicate with the diverging main line or siding rails 9 and 10,

the tie member 15, which may be provided with a suitable handle 38 is thrown so that the switch points 11 and 12 are moved, the

point 11 being brought into contact and engagement with the rails 7 and the point 12 is taken out of engagement with the rail 8, and

at the same time, this motion is communicated by means of the two bell crank levers 16 and 35 to the movable rails 18 and 19, by

means of the rod 341, which is securely fastened to these movable rails. The bases of the rails 18 and 19 slide upon the top surface of the stationary plate 25 and they are prevented from lifting up or choking by means of the tongue 22 of the movable plate 21. The tendency to vertical play is practically-eliminated and the ends of these rails may only oscillate the distance which corresponds to the spacing of the lugs 31 and 32. It will be noticed by this simultaneous movement of the switch points andthe movable rails, that the rails may be positioned in substantially correct alinement immediately and with little friction.

Minor changes in the form and details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention, or the scope of the appended claims.

Having described this invention, what is claimed is 1. A railway switch comprising main line rails, supporting members therefor, a stationary plate bridging the space between a pair of members, one of said members being provided with a recess in its upper face, said plate having depending lugs extending within said recess and positioned adjacent the opposite ends thereof, movable rails co- I acting with the main line rails, a plate secured to the under surface of said rails adjacent corresponding ends thereof, said ends of the rail overlying and resting upon the stationary plate, said second named plate being provided with an extension disposed within the recess of the supporting member and underlying the stationary plate, and means for imparting movement to said movable rail.

2. A railway switch comprising main line rails, supporting members therefor, a stationary plate bridging the space between a pair of members, one of said members being provided with a recess in its upper face, said plate having depending lugs extending within said recess and positioned adjacent the opposite ends thereof, movable.rails-rcof 6, there "is provided a safe track which will acting withgaie. main linerails, a. platezsea cured to the under surface of said rails adthe rails, and means for imparting movement jacent corresponding ends thereof, said ends to said movable rail. 10 of the rail overlying and resting upon the In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my stationary plate, said second named plate signature in the presence of two witnesses. being provided with an extension disposed THEODORE HARDEGEN. within the recess of the supporting member Witnesses: and underlying the stationary plate, a spac- DAVH) DARNLEY, ing block interposed between said ends of JOHN T. HARDEGEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

